Page 124 of Offside Devil

“You get thirty minutes.” I shove past him, stomping my way towards a table in the darkest corner. “Thirty minutes and then I’m gone.”

It’s a shame I’m sober, because the only way a place like this might be tolerable is with several drinks in my system.

Or Mira by my side, I admit very unwillingly.

“What do you think?” Daniel asks, perusing the menu. “This seems like the kind of place Taylor would be into, right?”

“That depends. Is Taylor into flashing light-induced migraines and sugar with a side of alcohol?”

Daniel ignores me, too nervous to take the bait. “The bar is busy, but I reserved a booth. They seem private enough, yeah?”

I sigh. “I’m sure she’ll like wherever you take her. She was all over you at the barbecue.”

“Yeah, and hasn’t been since,” he grumbles. “It’s fine, though. We took that road trip and then work has been crazy. I just haven’t been able to tend to my little plant the way I need to, but I can salvage things.”

I choke on a laugh. “Excuse me? Did you just call her your little plant?”

“Not her, but our relationship, yeah,” he shrugs. “New relationships are like little baby plants. They need a lot of water and light and consistent care until they’re bigger and hardier.”

“Which self-help book did you read that out of?”

I’m kidding, but I think Daniel might actually be blushing. “I have the internet. I figured I might as well use it to my advantage.”

“Holy shit—Davis wasn’t kidding. You’re absolutely whipped for this chick.”

Daniel doesn’t even deny it. He just smiles. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“I haven’t seen you hooking up with anyone else since Mira came along.”

“I’ve been a little busy raising a kid,” I point out. “And CPS won’t buy that I’m in a serious relationship if I’m photographed out with random women every weekend.”

Daniel squints at me for a long second before he shakes his head. “Nice try, but I don’t buy it.”

“You don’t have to buy it; I’m not selling anything. I’m just telling you the truth.”

“Bullshit,” he retorts. “You can be discreet. You’ve done it before. There are plenty of ways to get women to bed without being photographed and you know it. You’ve done it.”

He isn’t wrong. There are always ways around the press. They’d never know. Neither would Mira.

The problem is that I know.

I know the way Mira tastes. I know what it feels like when her legs are wrapped around my waist. I know what she sounds like when she comes.

No other woman is going to match up to what is waiting for me at home, and I have no idea how to make sense of that.

“Fine. I can admit it.” I throw up my hands. “I’m into Mira. But I’m not pathetic about it the way you are.”

“Oh, you’re pathetic alright,” he says. “You’re just in denial. Which is arguably worse.”

Two guys cozy up to a redhead at the bar. I can’t hear them over the music, but I can tell by the way he’s leaning in way too close that he’s hitting on her. The woman flashes them a wedding ring and the men slink off.

Daniel puts his shit-eating grin away and tries his hand at something bordering on sincerity. It comes out looking more like he’s constipated. “Taylor thinks Mira is really into you, you know.”

“Great,” I mutter sarcastically. “Thanks, Taylor. Much appreciated.”

The two guys I saw on the prowl earlier are on the other side of the bar now. They must have been successful because one of them has his arm thrown over a woman’s shoulders. Her head is turned, so I can’t see her face, but…

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